Nineteenth Century Philosophy

Johann Gottlieb Fichte

What was Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s political philosophy?

In his Foundations of Natural Right (1796), he supported individualism, but his views changed over time. His “Speeches to the German Nation” (1808) advocated concern for the common good and condemned selfish acts. He argued that egoism was untenable, morally, but that the German people could rise to a higher level because of the innate excellence of their character and language.